Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: The Sword Sage's Fury
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Baek Hyeon-gyeong's subdued voice filled the hall with sharp tension.
After the blade slipped from his fingertips, the atmosphere inside froze cold.
At first, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong, who had returned to Mount Hua, never dreamed that he—the mere thought of whom made him frown—would set foot in the sect's heart.
But it was reality.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong pressed the blade to Cheon Su-myeong's nape, demanding an answer.
"Speak. Did I not ask why you have set foot in Mount Hua!"
Baek Hyeon-gyeong's voice grew rougher.
Cheon Su-myeong slowly turned his head to meet his gaze.
A razor-sharp sword hovered at his throat, yet his movements showed no hesitation.
Facing Baek Hyeon-gyeong squarely, Cheon Su-myeong parted his lips leisurely.
"It's been a long time, Sword Sage."
Cheon Su-myeong expressed a measure of delight at their reunion.
He hadn't crossed paths with him in over a decade lately.
Before Hyeok Mulin had dragged him away, he rarely ventured into the central plains anyway, and he had no reason to seek out other peak experts of the previous generation.
So this truly was a reunion after many years.
'Looking at that face, it seems I was right to follow the Cult Leader.'
He had ascended Mount Hua at Hyeok Mulin's behest.
While waiting for the sect leader and dispensing miscellaneous instructions, he'd sometimes sighed at the pointless wait—but now he grasped its meaning.
Hyeok Mulin was likely the first to twist the ever-calm, lake-like composure of Baek Hyeon-gyeong into such a grimace.
Meeting those icy eyes fixed on him, Cheon Su-myeong continued slowly.
"No need for such wariness. I haven't done a thing since stepping foot here."
"Do you expect me to believe that? There's no way a demon to the bone like you infiltrated Mount Hua's depths and just sat idle!"
At the impassioned tone, Cheon Su-myeong shrugged.
"But I've only spoken the truth. I merely followed the man standing beside you."
"You expect me to believe you followed someone?"
"What will you do if you don't? It is the truth."
"……."
Those words silenced Baek Hyeon-gyeong for a moment, his gaze shifting to Hyeok Mulin.
Staring at him intently, Baek Hyeon-gyeong posed a question.
"Is what he says true?"
Hyeok Mulin nodded simply.
"His words are correct. He merely accompanied me onto Mount Hua."
"…Ha, haha. So that's how it is."
Repeating Hyeok Mulin's name under his breath, Baek Hyeon-gyeong soon realized the truth.
There was only one man in the world who could lead Cheon Su-myeong around freely.
When he'd first heard his name, he'd naturally assumed it was a coincidence.
Now, Baek Hyeon-gyeong understood.
"You… are the Heavenly Demon."
"Indeed."
With that confirmation, every piece fell neatly into place.
Talent and prowess beyond his years.
And having a Heavenly Demon Divine Cult peak expert of the previous generation at his side.
Yet what still astonished him was:
'Even after realizing his identity, I sense almost no demonic qi from him.'
Baek Hyeon-gyeong probed Hyeok Mulin's internal energy with full focus, yet he could barely detect any trace of demonic qi.
This contrasted sharply with Cheon Su-myeong, another peak expert whose demonic nature was obvious at a glance.
Of course, if Cheon Su-myeong deliberately concealed it, even another peak expert might struggle to detect it.
But the key point was that Baek Hyeon-gyeong could scarcely sense Hyeok Mulin's demonic qi at all.
'This isn't a difference in realm. Something fundamental is different from the start.'
Unaware of extreme demonic qi but intuiting something close, Baek Hyeon-gyeong withdrew his sword and redirected it.
His blade now pointed at Hyeok Mulin's nape, not Cheon Su-myeong's.
"I thought I'd found a fine friend, but what a pathetic delusion."
Though their ages differed, Baek Hyeon-gyeong had regarded Hyeok Mulin as a sword brother with whom to exchange techniques.
He'd trusted him openly, even showing him Mount Hua's sword—only to be stabbed in the back like this.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong felt profound betrayal.
"What scheme brought you to me, deceiving Mount Hua?"
Baek Hyeon-gyeong's sword tip gleamed sharply as he questioned.
Yet Hyeok Mulin showed no agitation, even with the blade near his throat.
He merely answered calmly.
"I have deceived neither you nor Mount Hua."
"I've seen through your identity, yet you still deny it…!"
"How can I call the truth a lie? I have never spoken a single falsehood to your questions or anyone in Mount Hua."
Hyeok Mulin's words were factual.
He hadn't sought out Mount Hua first; he'd been invited. And no one in the Mount Hua Sect had even suspected him of being a demon, let alone the Heavenly Demon.
No one had asked, so he hadn't revealed it.
In the end, he had neither deceived the Mount Hua Sect nor lied.
Frowning, Baek Hyeon-gyeong pressed further.
"Once you set foot in Mount Hua, you became entangled in several incidents. Was there no scheme behind that?"
"Mere curiosity. From the start, bringing you back to the sect leader's seat from that disappearance was proof enough of my intentions."
"If it was to earn my trust, that makes sense."
"If you were the Heavenly Demon, between gaining the trust of Mount Hua's sect leader or its downfall—which would you choose?"
Hyeok Mulin's retort struck home, leaving Baek Hyeon-gyeong speechless.
From the Heavenly Demon's perspective, his own disappearance as a righteous peak expert and Mount Hua's leader would have been more advantageous.
It would sow great chaos in the Martial Alliance and Mount Hua.
Yet he'd brought stability to Mount Hua by returning him.
It was an incomprehensible act for the Demon Cult's leader.
Of course, that choice had been calculated with the balance between righteous and demonic factions and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's situation in mind—but Baek Hyeon-gyeong, unaware of this, could only harbor doubts.
Then.
"Why have you returned to Mount Hua?"
The recent Martial Alliance conference had focused heavily on Heavenly Demon Hyeok Mulin's movements.
They'd noted his growth and paths, deliberating countermeasures in a prolonged meeting.
Yet his actions were mostly unpredictable.
They'd concluded on rapid response over preemptive action, canceling further meetings.
'He truly is unpredictable.'
Who could have foreseen the Heavenly Demon and Demon Sword Lord ascending Mount Hua's heart alone?
Let alone waiting leisurely for the sect leader's return.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong intuited their intent.
'They're after my life.'
In the jianghu, a peak expert of the previous generation meant more than just a warrior.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong was a pillar of the righteous sects and the Martial Alliance.
They'd come to topple that pillar.
'Is the Demon Cult rising again?'
A bloody storm seemed due in the complacent jianghu.
That it began with Mount Hua—and his life—chilled Baek Hyeon-gyeong's gaze.
'I won't die quietly.'
Objectively, victory was unlikely.
Even assuming parity with Cheon Su-myeong, it was two against one.
With Hyeok Mulin joining, no number of fights would yield an edge.
Yet he couldn't back down easily here.
If they'd met elsewhere in the central plains, he might have retreated—but this was Mount Hua's core.
Turning his back would turn it into a sea of flames.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong couldn't stand by and watch.
Even if today was his last breath.
In that tension-charged air, as Baek Hyeon-gyeong gripped his sword tighter.
Hyeok Mulin slowly spoke.
"Why I've come to Mount Hua…."
Step. Step.
Moving deliberately, Hyeok Mulin sat in the chair by the table.
As furrows deepened on Baek Hyeon-gyeong's brow, Hyeok Mulin continued.
"Much to say, but why not sit and talk?"
Two old men and one young man sat at the table.
To the casual eye, it might seem an ordinary gathering of warriors—but anyone knowing the truth wouldn't dare approach.
Amid the icy tension between the Sword Lord and Sword Sage, only Hyeok Mulin savored the tea before him.
Setting down his cup, Baek Hyeon-gyeong spoke.
"Now speak. What purpose brings you to our sect—accompanied by the Demon Sword Lord, no less."
With Hyeok Mulin showing no hostility and suggesting they sit, Baek Hyeon-gyeong had sheathed his sword again.
But his wariness remained, nerves on edge.
Had Hyeok Mulin come alone, it would have been no issue.
He wouldn't have detected the Heavenly Demon, and his demeanor hadn't seemed threatening.
But arriving with Cheon Su-myeong changed everything.
Bringing the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's only publicly visible peak expert here implied hidden motives.
Thus, when Baek Hyeon-gyeong questioned directly, Hyeok Mulin answered.
"I came with a single request."
"A request…?"
Baek Hyeon-gyeong's face showed puzzlement.
What could the Heavenly Demon possibly request of Mount Hua's sect leader?
Entering the enemy's heart to ask a favor of a foe—Baek Hyeon-gyeong couldn't fathom his thinking.
"Yes. And this is a request from one mere warrior to another."
Mere warrior.
What did he intend to say?
Unable to guess the request, Baek Hyeon-gyeong glanced at Cheon Su-myeong beside him.
But his expression suggested equal ignorance.
Cheon Su-myeong leaned in curiously too.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong felt a twinge of surprise.
'Even he doesn't know.'
A matter not shared with his accompanying Demon Sword Lord.
The Heavenly Demon's influence within the Demon Cult seemed greater than outsiders imagined.
The more he learned of Hyeok Mulin, the greater his astonishment grew. As he awaited the answer, those lips parted slowly.
"Sword Sage."
And it was the most outrageous request Baek Hyeon-gyeong had ever heard.
"Please spar with the Sword Lord."